So, we get home late last night from a trip to Chicago, bringing home a cold that the husband says I started working on before I left for Chicago. Everyone else gets to bed, but I’m not asleep yet; so I log in to Second Life for the first time in a week, looking for a little relaxation.
Read the rest of this entry »Notice: large, and graphics intensive
Complete album of full-size photos on my Flickr stream
Continued from previous article ….
Extracted from Web site of The National Inquisitioner (tabloid), November 26, 2017, “Hollywood Glam” column by Ramona BelGrande:
Hollywood shone someplace other than in Hollywood last night, as luminaries from across all the fields of the film industry gathered in Van Nuys, California – yes, Van Nuys – to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the New York première of Casablanca, the little film that many consider the greatest movie ever made. To commemorate the occasion, Warner Bros. caused a recreation of elements from the famous movie sets, especially Rick’s Café Américain, to be built near one of the runways at the old Van Nuys Airport. A few parts of the movie’s airport scenes were filmed at this airport, and the studio persuaded the City of Los Angeles to close that runway for the night. Everyone who could bought or otherwise acquired a “lettre de transit” (a ticket) to the event; there have even been rumors of deals made on the black market to obtain the precious tickets, not unlike in the film.
The party consisted of two parts – an open-to-all street carnival, with entrance fees going to charity, conducted in the streets of the “old souk”; and the star-studded extravaganza party in the evening. The carnival was well attended by everyone in the morning; but many celebrities pulled away in the afternoon to prepare for the black-tie affair – almost as big an affair as the Red Carpet on Oscar Night. After all, “everyone comes to Rick’s.”
And what a night it was! Notables from around the world, as well as descendants of six of the stars, attended the function. Grandchildren of the original playwrights and screenwriters, as well as a member of the family of director Michael Curtiz, were also present. And, as you can see from the photographs, styles and fashion ran rampant. Some came to the soirée in modern fashions from New York, Paris and Milan; many more chose to channel classic Forties Hollywood glamour. And others created a wild yet wonderful fusion between the past and the present ….
Every year we have been
witness to it: how the
world descends
into a rich mash, in order that
it may resume.
And therefore
who would cry out
to the petals on the ground
to stay,
knowing as we must,
how the vivacity of what was is married
to the vitality of what will be?
I don’t say
it’s easy, but
what else will do
if the love one claims to have for the world
be true?
So let us go on, cheerfully enough,
this and every crisping day,
though the sun be swinging east,
and the ponds be cold and black,
and the sweets of the year be doomed.
Lines written in the days of growing darkness, by Mary Oliver
=====
The details:
Photographed in Good Memories region
View the full-size photos (including a 1920×1080 wallpaper) in PNG in my Flickr album.
Harper suggested we go check out a club called Cyberia Openstage. The Destination Guide (a handy thing at times for newbies or relative newbies for finding fresh places; even you oldbies should try it sometimes) lists it as “a sci-fi themed place with an open stage for all aspiring and established deejays.” And we loved it when we got there; someone was playing electronica at the time, and a batch of people were grooving the beat. We recommend it for music and dancing, if you ever want to go clubbing someplace that doesn’t require a ball gown.
Looking for photos of Cyberia? Not here, but edgy fashion, yes. Turn the page.
The location is The Place — though not that place. (Ten points, a free God’s Blessing, and a trip to the chalk line if you can tell me which place that place is, and why.) And you would not believe what I’ve went through to get these few photos. There were more, but I had no shadows at the first place I tried, and then I forgot to save the gown the first time through, and lost track of a headdress I was wearing — I have headdresses across so many different spots in Inventory, I hate as a librarian and a supposedly “organized” person to admit it. I’ve finally said, “To hell with it,” and I’m going with the basic gown I put together, sans headdresses, staffs, and other magical adornments. But what a dress, and what adornments I do have in here. First of all, the gown is PurpleMoon — need we say more? When Poulet Koenkamp does it, she does it right.
None of us have put anything up for days, so I figured I’d add some of my storyboarding sessions from “Thief In the Night,” the story I’m working on in dribs and drabs. It’s not moving incredibly well in the writing department, partly because of time constraints, partly because of Second Life, and partly because I’ve never written scenes where two women are arguing over a man before. You’ll see below, in the photos for the “confrontation” section. As I think I’ve said before, I like to use SL as a platform to work out scenes and dress my characters visually. It makes it easier to imagine and portray what they look like in any scene when I have an actual visual reference. So far, the dress designers of Second Life haven’t let me down, or I’ve worked something up into a more futuristic appearance (or at least more glitzy).
Warning: From here on, it’s graphics intensive, about 15 photos. I’ve saved them in JPG and shrunk them down, but it will probably still take a bit to load them all, and I’m not really thrilled whenever I use the gallery feature in WordPress (just because I want it all out in the open). So if you have a slow connection, here be dragons from this point on.
Nothing sensational today; just a photo of us on my patio yesterday, before we got down to work on a massive photo project. I’ve come up with an idea or two for a new story, and Conan and Jem are willing to help in the storyboarding and illustration. It’s good to have some help these days; it doesn’t get the articles written or published any faster, necessarily, but it also lets me do more in some areas, and brings in some fresh eyes.
I’ve often used Second Life as my platform for bringing my stories to life — or, alternatively, for writing stories that frame the photos I take for the blog and Flickr. It’s hard work, and it can get expensive, but it can be fun, too. You’ll see a shortened version of this story on the blog at some point in the future, if all goes well. Heads up / shout out to Poulet Koenkamp and PurpleMoon — your goodies will be featured!
If you have not visited the region that hosts Canary Beck’s Basilique Playhouse, do so! It is so beautiful, you must witness it yourself.
Plenty of photos in this article. These, and a poem by Felice Mancini, on the next page.
I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way
than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.
Pablo Neruda, One Hundred Love Sonnets, XVII
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